Environmentalism

If you’re trying out vegan living this January with the awesome Veganuary or just looking for some interesting cookbooks, here’s a little selection I picked for the Happy Foodie site:

Lee Watson, the author of vegan cookbook Peace & Parsnips, has shared the 5 cookbooks that shaped the way he thinks about (and eats!) food. Find out more about Lee’s own cookbook here.

The New Good Life – John Robbins

I have been cooking vegan food for many years, I’ve always been fascinated by the creative way we can use plant-based ingredients to produce stunning dishes to suit any palate. Veganism for me was a gradual shift, it seemed liked the more I learnt about it, the more it embodied the lifestyle I wanted and my ethics and hopes for the future. The New Good Life was one book that made a big impact on me. Being a vegan has many positive effects, not just relating to animals, the environment and our health. This is a passionate book which gives practical steps to move away from the view that happiness is gauged by our status or what we have lurking about in the bank. We can live well on less, whilst moving ever closer to harmony with nature, the planet and ourselves. This is certainly my approach. Diet is a major part of this and John explains the health benefits of a plant-based diet, planet-friendly food that saves money and much more.

John was a big part of the popular ice cream brand ‘Baskin and Robbins’ until he went through a complete change of heart after realising the true implications and costs of the dairy industry. John became an advocate for a vegan lifestyle and has now been campaigning for years, living the good life and writing many books, ‘The New Good Life’ is my favourite.

As a sign of the times, Baskins and Robbins are now releasing their first ever vegan ice creams. I’m looking forward to trying some soon.

Diet for a Small Planet – Frances Moore Lappé

This book came out in the early 70’s, it was before its time, one of the first books to highlight the hugely negative impact of meat production on the environment. It is also filled with meat-free recipes and tips on a healthier diet. Frances argued for ‘environmental vegetarianism’ and veganism naturally takes this further in the right direction. The book also highlighted issues like world hunger and how it is affected by our still highly ineffective food policies.

It can be baffling and frustrating to read this book and know that we’ve been talking about the same issue for over 50 years. I think one major issue is that we just aren’t offered the correct information about the environmental impact of our dietary choices.

Going vegan or choosing to eat more plant-based meals minimises the support for large-scale animal agriculture, which is the number one source of global warming, much more destructive than the entire transport industry put together! This is a contentious issue but gradually, the true impact of animal agriculture is being understood. Environmental issues like these certainly influenced my reasons for becoming a vegan and cooking planet-friendly foods.

World Peace Diet – Will Tuttle

For anyone interested in veganism or moving in this direction, on any level, this is the first book that I recommend. There are precious few books out there that speak from the heart of veganism, which for me, is rooted in compassion for all beings. Will looks deeply into the implications and rationale of a vegan lifestyle; from ethical, health, historical, cultural and environmental perspectives. He really breaks it down in a highly readable, logical and illuminating way.

Veganism is a profoundly positive and peaceful way of thinking and acting, many global issues can be linked with the food we consume and how it is produced. Will brings this to life with realistic examples, scientific support and an open approach. I think the secrets to a truly better, more peaceful and sustainable world are tucked away in these pages.

How to Cook Your Life – Dogen

I admit to not reading many cookbooks or watching food programmes on TV. I work as a chef and once I’ve been cooking all day, then cooked dinner, I’m ready for something a little different. A nice slice of peace.

Mindfulness is becoming more and more popular and How to Cook Your Life takes us back to the 13th century, the writing of Zen master and philosopher Dogen. It reveals the rules and etiquette of a Zen kitchen and how cooking well is an integral part of living well.

I believe wholeheartedly in this approach, every part of the cooking process is important, from buying or growing the food right up to the washing up!

I see mindfulness as being inextricably linked with a vegan lifestyle. The more mindful I become, the more sensitive I am to the way that my thoughts and actions affect myself and others.

In a Zen Monastery, only the abbot has a higher status than the cook (or tenzo), who is always an experienced monk. The abbot looks after spiritual matters, you could say feeding the mind, and the cook takes care of the physical side, feeding the body with wholesome food imbued with good energy. This book helped me to realise a more conscious and focused approach to the way that I cook, eat and live.

The Mystic Cookfire – Veronika Sophia Robinson

This is one of my partner Jane’s favourite cookbooks. It was a tough choice as there are so many amazing vegan chefs out there writing brilliant books; Aine Carlin, Isa Chandra Moscowitz and Angela Liddon to name but a few, but my cooking influences come from all sorts of angles.

The Mystic Cookfire is beautifully written with an open heart and lovely illustrations. It’s the rare kind of cookbook that you could quite happily read like a novel, tucked up in bed, with some hot chocolate. On the rare occasion that I have a day off playing with pots and pans, this is Jane’s go to cookbook, we eat from the ‘Mystic Cookfire’ (what a name!!).

I love eating food with soul, something so intangible, but you know the kind of food I’m talking about. Home cooked happiness! These recipes are simple, plant-based and nourishing; the kind of food that can make a house a home, dishes that will become family staples for years to come.

This book also focuses on the deeper relevance of food and cooking. How it is much more than just throwing some ingredients together. Cooking can be a daily routine that accentuates the lives of cooks, families and loved ones.

I’m a sucker for a good quote and this book is packed with amusing and informative references and quotes. Good cooking for me comes from a place deeper than just sound technique. There has to be some love in the mix!

Going vegan in January is an amazingly positive way to start the year and is so easy, there is loads of information and tips on the Veganuary site. After trying out a vegan lifestyle for a month, many people feel and understand the benefits to themselves, the planet and of course, to animals. Not to mention the outrageously sensational food! You’re going to shine inside and out after a month of feeling the effects of full power plant diet.

The new Barefoot Vegan full of inspirational articles and reasons to be cheerful

Many of you may know that I’m a regular contributor to the Barefoot Vegan Magazine. Its a place where a positive and vibrant vegan message can be found. Something so peaceful, healthy, natural and inspiring for all! Vegans and non-vegans are bound to find articles of interest and this edition focuses on kids and young people.

I think it is so rare to find a publication that is based purely on love and positivity. The focus in the Barefoot Vegan is creating a better world for all, a powerful message that is deeply effecting and in the magazine you get all the good news!

There are so many people out there pulling in the right direction, making efforts and putting energy into creating a more peaceful, accepting and harmonious global society. The Barefoot Vegan is like an antidote to what we see on the news or read via the media in general. Its empowering and full of hope, without which, positive change is hard to muster on any level. We’re off to the Americas for a while very soon, but hopefully I’ll be able to write an article or two on the road.

There are so many reasons to feel proud of each other and the efforts we make, no matter how small, to reverse the trend of a depressive world view and destructive approaches to living. Going vegan is massive step in so many wonderful ways and has profound effects. It’s much, much more than simply changing our diet.

The Barefoot Vegan is like a sanctuary where optimism, compassion and peace are virtues to be celebrated and are ultimately realistic and hugely transforming.

Peace and Happiness, lee

‘Feeding the future!’ – a vegan diet is wonderfully nutritious for children and all ages

I spent time at Solitude Farm in Auroville, Tamil Nadu (India) a couple of years ago. I was writing Peace & Parsnips at the time, something I did in six different countries whilst travelling around the world. In a strange way, the more I travelled and spent time with local, proactive farmers, the more I realised my passion for ‘local’, ethically produced food.

Wherever you are in the world, local food plays a critical role in so many ways; it connects us with our local environment, it maintains our health and provides our bodies with all they need to thrive and it can help us build stronger communities, sharing knowledge and working together in positive projects based around an ethical approach to life and society.

Solitude Farm Thalis – All organic and from the land (even the rice and grains)

Krishna was always very kind, Solitude Farm is a place of action and energy, but I occasionally spent late afternoons in my little hut keeping up with the book submission deadlines. Outside of my typing, I spent plenty of time harvesting papayas, watering and tilling the parched Tamil earth, learning from Krishna about the incredible flora and fauna and cooking. I did loads of lovely cooking.

I cooked in the Solitude kitchen with local women, who after weeks still referred to me in Tamil as ‘the tall beardy man’. We prepared the dishes over wood fired stoves with a whole host of exotic ingredients; radhas consciousness (a flower), varagu (like millet), green papaya, plantains, banana flowers, red amaranth leaves……so many wonderful ingredients that we picked freshly every morning. The food was naturally and effortlessly vegan. It was an awesome experience!

I have never seen such fecundity, in one small field we had a diverse range of fruits, leaves, nuts and roots to eat. One small field could provide many, many people with a diverse and nutritious plant-based diet. At Solitude Farm I saw a vibrant window of what farming could be, when we turn our attention away from the industrial and towards more sustainable, sensitive and enriching practices, namely permaculture and the teachings of Masanobu Fukuoka. The earth provides us with all that we need and nature is perfect!

Soltitude Farm was such a fertile place to write and be, a place of inspiration in so many ways, much of which hit the pages of Peace & Parsnips. The sense that when we pull together, anything is achievable and that the future is bright when we turn to the earth and watch, learn and most importantly, act. The answers to all of our problems are here; in people, food and music.

I hope you get the chance to read more about Krishna’s wonderful project and help to support it, allowing the people of Tamil Nadu access to invaluable training and knowledge that can transform lives and communities.

There are only 12 more days to go to contribute towards this important project and there are some inspiring ideas for last minute Christmas presents. Really unique and precious. Embracing and learning about local food is at the heart of a better tomorrow and I thank Krishna for his constant dedication to spreading the seeds of positive change, from the heart to the plate.

Read my new article for the beautiful Barefoot Vegan Magazine here. You just need to quickly subscribe for free.

The way we chose to eat is so important and has huge and far reaching effects on the environment and the world in general. In the article I discuss practical ways of eating and cooking in a more sustainable way.